


Strength

by KibaSin



Series: Past Time [27]
Category: Bleach, InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M, One Shot, Self-Destruction, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-18
Updated: 2013-07-18
Packaged: 2017-12-20 14:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/888201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KibaSin/pseuds/KibaSin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She wasn't considered a real Shinigami, for she'd been orphaned, and her Shinigami abilities didn't begin to show until a later age then most. Still, Hitsugaya Toshiro was someone she secretly leaned on for strength, and she reacted when she saw that orange-haired punk actually manage to knock him down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strength

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the material belonging to the creators of Inuyasha or Bleach.

* * *

Ichigo grinned when the white-haired kid hit the ground, rolling. He raised the Zangetsu; ready to hit the kid, even though he tried to say he was one the taichou of one of the Shinigami squads. If he were, he'd be glad to have another one out of the way, since he was going to save Rukia, even at the cost of his life. He was kind of surprise, since if this kid was a squad leader, then why had he gone down so easily? They'd been going at it for quite some time, exchanging blow for blow, but finally he'd gotten the upper hand on him, and now he'd make sure that he stayed nice and quiet until he was so far away it'd be too hard to track him and the others.

Her eyes widened, seeing the Zanpakuto coming down toward Hitsugaya Toshiro's head. She wasn't sure whether or not this strange Shinigami that she'd never seen before was going to kill the taichou of the 10th Division or merely slam his head into the ground in order to knock him unconscious. Before she could stop herself, she moved, her speed giving her an advantage as she moved toward them. She would not allow anyone to hurt Hitsugaya while she was around, for he did not treat her like the other Shinigami.

"Ichigo!"

"Huh?" Ichigo replied, looking up. His concentration slipped for a moment, and then he watched as the kid turned his face back toward him, scowling but accepting to whatever he did to him. Tightening his grip, Ichigo swung his Zanpakuto like a bat, and nearly hit the kid in the side of the head when two hands gripped the blade of his weapon, pushing it back. "What the…?" Where did all these kids keep coming from?

Toshiro narrowed his eyes. He didn't move from his position, trying to see through the dirt that had risen into the air around them. When it cleared, he was looking at the ground and saw a small puddle of blood pooling at the other Death God's feet. Looking up, he allowed a bit of his surprise to show on his face, taking in the form of Kagome, another Shinigami who'd been orphaned just inside the gate. When found she couldn't have been more than five weeks old, from what the rumor said, and though it was very long ago, the Soul Society considered her, like him, very young. However, she was unpredictable. They would not have even thought she was a Shinigami, except for the fact that her red spirit ribbons were a dead give away, and her power had simply matured at a later age then most.

Orihime gasped. "Ichigo, you're hurting her!"

Gritting his teeth, he pushed down a bit, though he did hear Orihime's concern for the Shinigami holding onto his Zangetsu. She surprised him, for even though she was a few inches taller than the other kid; she was stronger than he'd expected her to be. She pushed back as soon as he began to push, and though her palms were being cut, she continued to hold up against him. She didn't even look like she was using all her strength. "What the hell are you doing, kid? This is between me and him, got it?" Ichigo growled, trying to pull away. He was surprised to find that she latched her hands onto his blade, and managed to hold it there.

"I will not allow you to harm Hitsugaya-taichou," she growled. "You're the one who is trespassing here, not I, so I would not be telling me how to do things." She glanced at the blade between her hands, "You may have the powers of a Shinigami, but can you use them?"

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Exactly what I said," she replied.

Ichigo pushed against her again, watching as she slid a bit backwards toward the other kid, this Hitsugaya-taichou as she called him. In fact, he remembered hearing his name. Hitsugaya Toshiro. "Then try to stay on one subject next time, kid," he said.

Toshiro rose from the ground, and reached out for his own Zanpakuto. "Stand down, Kagome," he said.

Her eyes shifted toward him, and then she looked back toward the orange-haired male in front of her. He'd nearly hurt Toshiro; she would not allow that to go unpunished. "I can't do that, I'm sorry," she replied. She allowed one hand to leave the blade of the Zanpakuto in her hands, and grabbed it at a different angle, before pushing against the blade, in both directions with both hands at the same time. It twisted out of the strange Shinigami's hands, and she flipped it, grabbing the hilt, before slamming it into the ground. "I am not apart of one of the squads, and though you're a taichou, I refuse to obey that order, Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Kagome." Toshiro watched her, sheathing his sword as he did so. She was correct, though he did have the rank of taichou; she had never been placed upon a Squad because of her late maturity. She was free to do as she pleased, no matter how many time he told her to do as he said. The Soul Society and her adoptive family would most likely punish her later on, though the punishment would not be harsh, as she was technically protecting him.

Ichigo jumped backward, and looked back to find that Uryuu, Chad, Orihime, and that stupid cat had merely gone back to watching him. He scowled, and then turned his attention back to the two Shinigami in front of him. They had turned toward each other, and seemed to have a silent agreement passing between their eyes, though there was something in the girl's that was kind of strange. The boy was serious and stood his ground, facing him as if he'd come to the girl's rescue should she need him, but he doubted he'd do that. The battle was now between him and the girl, and until the girl fell, the boy would most likely stand back and watch it all happen. Yeah, he really liked the way these Reapers treated one another—especially with what they planned to do to Rukia.

He looked to his Zanpakuto, before turning his attention back to the girl who'd turned toward him. She was strong, that was for sure, since she'd managed to get the Zangetsu into the ground almost to the hilt. With no guard, it would have looked like a stick poking out of the ground if she'd pushed it in far enough. He wondered if he'd be able to get it out before she actually attacked him, since it was clear these Shinigami wanted to capture them and make sure they didn't return. The girl, though, seemed different, she seemed to merely wish to help her friend, boyfriend, or whatever the kid was to her.

Watching her, he saw her hand come down and grip the hilt on her side, and pulled her katana from its sheath. He started to laugh when he saw it, nearly leaning over in order grip his sides. Placing his hand on his knee, he looked at the Zanpakuto the girl possessed, since it usually reflected the power of a Shinigami, and hers looked barely over a foot long. "You expect to fight me with that thing?" he laughed.

She scowled. "Do not mock me, boy," she growled. "My Zanpakuto may look like it will deal nothing more than a cut, but you should learn that size does not matter. Here in the Soul Society Shinigami age differently than humans, and it is only right that my Zanpakuto has not reached full maturity, since I have yet to as well."

"Have you looked at that thing!" he chuckled loudly.

She glared at him. She turned her head in order to look at Hitsugaya, and saw him nod. Her glare intensified when she looked back at the orange-head, and she gripped the hilt of her Zanpakuto with both hands, even though it did not seem large enough to fit them. "Come forth,  _Shikon_!" she yelled.

Ichigo's laughing stopped instantly, his eyes widening when he felt her spirit energy spike. His eyes caught sight of her Zanpakuto, watching as it changed from its original form. It lengthened greatly, so much that it had to be six to eight inches taller than she was, which made it taller than the other kid as well. The guard disappeared, and the metal changed so that it was black, only the sharpened  _ends_  keeping the original silver color. Both sides were now blades, and it resembled a thin halberd, except for the piece on the very end, which shot out like the end of a scythe. It looked sharp enough to split him in half, and she was pointing it at him, holding the hilt with both hands, while it lay horizontally above the ground.

"I told you not to underestimate me simply because my Zanpakuto's first stage is small in length." She twisted her blade, allowing the sharp end that curved out from the straight blade to dig into the ground, easily cutting through mostly everything around it. "Things can be deceiving at first, and it seems that you may need a lesson in that department."

"Ichigo," he heard, though he wasn't sure who'd said it, "you can't fight that girl! Do you understand me, stand down!" Even if he wanted to listen to that order, he watched as the girl suddenly disappeared, her huge blade in tow. He watched Toshiro, seeing the boy merely stand there with a slight frown on his face, and wondered what he was thinking about. Besides, Ichigo needed to get his weapon back, and he had no idea where the girl was going to reappear at.

"Ichigo, above you!" Uryuu yelled.

Turning his head up, he saw the blade coming down toward him. He knew he was stronger, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to deflect the blade with his mere hands like she'd done with his. Thinking quickly, Ichigo moved from his place, and felt heat pulse into the air from the place he'd originally been as the girl hit the ground, her impact making a loud boom. Glancing back, not wanting to take his eyes off her, he noticed that her blade seemed to be licked with flames, and she easily placed both hands on the hilt and pulled it from the ground, even when most of the blade and the scythe-like end was lodged quite deeply.

She moved again, keeping the blade horizontal to the ground. Her footwork was quick, and she looked like she was disappearing and reappearing every so often. Ichigo tried to keep watch of her with his eyes, before decided that was going to get him nowhere. This girl was serious, and though he knew she was there, he couldn't pinpoint her location, which made her dangerous. Hearing a slight noise, almost too quiet to pick up, Ichigo rolled to the right, and felt the tip of the scythe graze his arm, flames instantly taking to the Shinigami clothing he wore. He managed to put them out quickly, and then moved again in order to stay out of her attack range, trying to move himself closer to his Zanpakuto. With it, at least he had a decent chance of not being knocked around so much, especially since he hated being on the defensive.

Toshiro's frown deepened, knowing that Kagome was simply playing with her opponent. He'd known her most of his life, and he was surprised now that they hadn't placed her onto a squad. He hadn't seen her fight for a while, but he wasn't aware that she'd mastered the second stage of her Zanpakuto—which made him wonder if she knew how to use the third and final stage, which would mean she'd reached the level that only taichou were able to reach, and she wasn't one. She wasn't even on a squad! Whoever had given the order to keep her off a squad simply because she'd matured late and didn't know her true heritage was a fool.

"Ichigo—"

"He's not going to listen to you, you might as well stop trying to gain his attention," Chad commented.

"But—"

Orihime nodded in agreement. "He's right."

Uryuu frowned, readjusting his glasses. "This is not good, though. Who would have thought we'd meet someone this powerful when we haven't even managed to make it four hundred feet from the gate." He straightened, tugging a bit at his cape in order to make sure it wasn't to loose. "Who is that girl, anyway?"

"Someone I had hoped we would not meet this close to the gate," they each glanced down at the black cat staring at the fight. "Her name is Higurashi Kagome, she was adopted by the Higurashi Family when she was found just inside the gate at the tender age of five to six weeks old. She'd been left there for dead, but she'd been found by Ichimaru Gin, and taken in when they saw that she did indeed have the red spirit ribbons of a Shinigami. Later the Higurashi Family, who thought that she might have great potential when she was older, adopted her. However, even though she did appear to have a great amount of spiritual energy, she was not able to even call upon her Shinigami powers until she was much older than most children. When she did manage it, others made fun of her simply because her Zanpakuto's first stage was so small in appearance, and because of her late maturity and her increase in spiritual energy when she reached the appearance of a ten-year-old human, they decided that they would watch her for any other strange happenings. Because of this she was not allowed to be placed onto a squad, but throughout the years she has gained a high reputation for being a true Death  _God_ , especially once she mastered the second stage of her Zanpakuto. Some say that if she ever manages to master the final stage that she will be taken over by darkness and they will have to destroy her, for though she shows great promise, they believe she may become stronger than any Shinigami in history and she will be ruled by her lust for power. They believe that should she master the final stage, she will kill everyone and everything from here to the Human Realm."

"That's terrible," Orihime gasp.

Uryuu nodded. "I must agree. Surely they can't believe she's an actual God simply because her Zanpakuto resembles the scythe most humans believe the Grim Reaper would wield?"

"I do not know for sure, but I have heard that she'd become quite powerful since she mastered the second stage. Her Zanpakuto, Shikon, is also said to be a mystery to most Shinigami, for it should take on the size and length that would resemble her spiritual energy. It  _should_  be either the size of Zangetsu or larger in its first stage, yet as you saw, it is quite small, and if it  _is_  maturing with her, as she believes it is, then that means there is much that could be learned from her. For from what they say, this has never happened." He stopped for a moment. "This girl holds great strength, and is only called upon when they wish for a job done quickly, and that is rarely ever the case, for most other Shinigami are able to do the job nicely without needing her strange power."

"I see," Uryuu said, "she's a phenomenon of the Soul Society."

"Yes, you could say that."

Ichigo smirked, once again rolling out of the way. For a moment he could have sworn he saw a figure similar to Zangetsu standing on the tip of the girl's Zanpakuto, only in the figure of a woman, but shook it away. He was getting closer and closer to his Zanpakuto, and he was positive that within a few moments he'd be able to roll over to it and pull it straight out of the ground. Watching her blade, he dodged out of the way, and felt the tip of the scythe slice into his chest, leaving a wound that began to sting almost instantly afterward. He gritted his teeth, he moved as quickly as he could.

Her grip tightened on her weapon, and she moved as she saw the boy's intention.

Toshiro stepped forward, his hand reaching up to grasp the hilt of his own Zanpakuto. He wished that Kagome would stop playing around like a child and would finish this quickly, for he knew that she could. He'd been listening to the strange cat and the others that came with this Ichigo, and knew that those rumors were correct. Kagome was a phenomenon, for no one was sure exactly how much more power she would gain before she matured completely. However, he was also angry at the fact that he knew it was true that they'd kill her if she did go insane when she truly did mature. She was a nice person, even if she did not know her true strength, and he hated it that they would kill her simply because they did not understand her.

Ichigo stopped when he saw her dark figure appear on top of the hilt of his Zanpakuto, her blade pointed at him once more. She was only holding it in one hand now, but he had no doubt in his mind that she could wield it with the same amount of accuracy and force that she had before. The sun was going down, though, and the wind had picked up, and it looked like a dark creature from pictures of Hell had suddenly stepped out into the world for his soul. Flames licked her blade still, though they were beginning to die down, and he wondered if that was because she was getting tired or if she was simply saving her energy.

"You will not take another step," Kagome frowned. "I will not allow you to come closer to Hitsugaya-taichou."

Ichigo's mouth fell open. "All this time and you've simply been keeping me away from him!"

"I do not wish to hurt you," Kagome said. "However, you raised your blade to my friend, to someone that does not shun me simply because I hold a hidden power that has not been unlocked yet. For that, I will not allow you to go away unpunished."

Toshiro lowered his eyes, allowing them to close for a moment. She was not even thinking about herself, she was once again thinking of him. Though he had not seen her in some time, she'd defended him the last time they had met as well. Kagome could act childish, much to his annoyance whenever she was in his presence, but at almost all times she was alert and serious, taking things in and determining threats or not. He knew, he did somewhere inside him, that she cared for him more than she was willing to admit, and in some way he returned those feelings. He did not want to see her hurt, just as she protected him whenever she was able to. They pulled strength from one another, but he was not entirely sure why he'd need to pull strength from her anyway.

Flames erupted from the ground around her, ranging from black to red in color. She was engulfed in them, and she swung her Zanpakuto so that it trailed through them. Instantly they took shape, and she launched herself off the hilt of the orange-head's Zanpakuto. The shape of a flaming tiger swam around her, and she brought her Zanpakuto down, intending on either destroying the orange-head, or harming him greatly. Shikon's tip grew even more, curving into a gruesome looking angle and the scythe end became jagged along the blade. It looked deadly, and it was.

"Command her to stop."

Toshiro glanced up, having not expected nor heard the arrival of Kuchiki Byakuya. The command to him was quite clear, and he nodded. Taking a glance toward Kagome, he noticed that the flames surrounding her seemed to be harming her more than anything else. Steeling his face, he went to do as the other taichou told him, scolding himself for not noticing that Kagome was using so much power that she was harming herself in the process. She would need time and energy to recover, and she would need to learn how to control her power more.

Byakuya's eyes narrowed.  _So, you have already mastered the second release, have you, Higurashi Kagome? It would seem that in the process you're killing yourself. It may be time to find a way to seal that uncontrollable power within you._

Ichigo raised his hands to protect himself.

Kagome's eyes glowed a dangerous red.

Toshiro rushed forward. "Kagome!"

She turned, her weapon still posed to take off the head of the orange-headed one, but the flames were receding and the tip of the Shikon returned to its perfectly sharpened appearance. She managed to move her blade so that she wouldn't touch the man she had attacked, the look in Toshiro's eyes telling her to stop. Her foot connected with the boy's shoulder and she pushed him backwards so that she could slow her movement and flip backwards toward the taichou. "Hitsugaya-taichou?"

He looked at her blackened face, noticing that it was already beginning to heal as he moved toward her. Tiny flames still licked around her, but her Zanpakuto returned to its first stage, and the flames disappeared, giving her time to heal herself completely. Grabbing her shoulders, he felt like shaking her. He hadn't known that her second released hurt her, "No more, Kagome."

"But—"

His eyes hardened, "No."

She lowered her head, and then nodded. Moving her hand, she easily sheathed her Zanpakuto without harming the taichou holding her shoulders. "As you wish, Hitsugaya-taichou."

"I don't want to see you hurting yourself again, do you understand?" he asked, frowning darkly at her.

"I was not—"

"You may not notice it, Kagome, but you are," Toshiro growled. He saw her flinch, and gripped her shoulders tighter. He did not notice Byakuya move past them in order to easily knock Ichigo unconscious, for his attention was completely on Kagome. "You don't have enough control over Shikon to use that technique you were going to use. You're hurting yourself by using it."

She lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry."

He sighed. "Just don't do it again. Not for me."

"Hitsugaya-taichou?" she frowned. Noticing that she'd gotten his attention completely, she said, "I promise I will not use it again until I have complete control."

"Good. I don't want to see you getting hurt because you see my knocked to the ground. I will get up, Kagome. You shouldn't go killing yourself simply because I've gotten knocked around a bit." Toshiro scowled again, "You should only do that if you're fighting to protect your own life, or the life of a loved one."

"You are someone I care for, Hitsugaya-taichou!" she snapped. "That counts too!"

He blinked, watching as she suddenly stiffened, her face turning red. Sighing again, he grabbed her chin and turned her face so that she was staring into his own, and shook his head. Giving her a tiny, rare smile, he said, "I don't want to you risk your life for mine, though."

"Hitsugaya-taichou…"

"Please, don't do it again, Kagome," he continued. He turned his head away, his smile disappearing. "I don't want to see you hurt."

Her eyes twinkled, and she smiled brightly. Without warning, she moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his back, and hugged him. He didn't return it well, only lightly allowing his hands to slip from her shoulders and grip her, but she was happy. "If you wish it, Hitsugaya-taichou, I will not protect you unless I know that a weapon is going to be thrust into your body and end your life."

He rested his chin on shoulder, since she was a little taller than him and it was hard to have rested his chin on top of her head as he wanted to. "And I will do the same."

_\--Fin_


End file.
